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March 1944
She remembered first meeting him in Scotland, one week before they were dropped into Holland. And back then, Nelly felt honoured to have met the man. His secret organisation had freed her from life in Woodilee Hospital. Nelly and the fifty-five agents present, were all naive and willing to die for that man and their country. So, meeting him for a second time didn't feel special or rewarding. She knew what went on now and she knew he didn't care enough to stop what was happening across Europe. Because he knew – they all knew. Nelly stood with Easy, and 2nd Battalion. Wearing their jump gear, they waited. Churchill, Eisenhower and other important men had witnessed 2nd Battalion make a jump. At present, the Battalion stood at Greenham Common Airbase. Nelly was standing at the front, along with her squad and Malarkey. For some reason, Malarkey wasn't standing with his mortar squad, he was placed in the front. Nelly was glad her friend stood next to her.
And before the two friends knew it, Eisenhower was saluting Malarkey.
"Where are you from, soldier?"
"Astoria, Oregon, sir". Malarkey didn't sound or look remotely flustered.
"And what were you doing before the war?" Eisenhower asked.
"Going to school at the University of Oregon, sir".
"So, who won that Oregon-Oregon State football game last year?"
"I'm not sure, sir". Malarkey replied.
"And what are your plans after the war, soldier?" Eisenhower asked.
"Uh, return to school, sir".
With a smile, Eisenhower shook Malarkey's hand. "Well, good luck to you, young man". Standing beside Eisenhower was Winston Churchill. "Prime Minister, do you have any questions?"
"Yes, how do you like England?" Churchill asked.
Around them, they could hear photographers snapping pictures. Curiously, Nelly peeked up to get a look at her friend. "Very much, sir". Malarkey replied. "I enjoy the literature and the history in particular".
Churchill made a grunting noise of approval. "Very well, young man".
Nelly shouldn't have moved a muscle. She shouldn't have looked up at Malarkey. Because soon, Eisenhower was staring down at the girl curiously. "And where are you from, soldier?"
Eyes a little wide, Nelly looked up at him.
A frown met Eisenhower's face. "Ah...you're that one". He said, "I thought you would have been taller, soldier".
Puffing on his cigar, Churchill followed Eisenhower's curious stare. He hummed. "Yes, that one". He said under his breath. "Move along now, Ike. The press can't catch that one".
That one. Nelly felt her insides turn cold. After what she did for Churchill – after all, they lost and sacrificed – she was that one. "Crossgates, sir". Nelly's voice had a tiny edge to it – while answering Eisenhower's question. She didn't see Toye close his eyes with an inward groan, and she missed the worried look on Malarkey's face.
Smoothly, Eisenhower asked, "How did you find America, soldier?"
"I liked it, sir". Nelly's voice had softened slightly. "I like...the people and...the music best, sir". She then added, "And the food, sir".
A very small smile met Eisenhower's lips. "I agree, soldier". He said, "Company E made quite the jump today, I'll bet your officers are proud".
"They are, sir".
"Well, may you long continue to make them proud, soldier". Eisenhower took Nelly's hand and shook it. "Good work, soldier". He added to her quietly.
"Thank you, sir". Nelly responded just as quietly.
When Eisenhower and Churchill moved along, Nelly quickly looked over at Winters. He sent her a small nod and smile in return. Letting out a quiet sigh, she faced the front again. It was shaping up to be a very odd eighteenth birthday for Nelly. She didn't tell anyone it was her birthday; she didn't like the fuss. They got the bus back to Aldbourne and reached the village for supper time – it was mutton, Nelly decided to skip supper. She sat with her friends for a few minutes and then headed back to the Nissan hut.
There, sitting on her pillow, was a present. Nelly frowned softly and picked the neatly wrapped gift up. Sitting on her mattress, she unwrapped the present. It was a very small gift – the box was purple. Nelly opened it up and found a golden locket inside. Very carefully, she took hold of the locket and golden chain and released it from the box. Nothing was carved into the locket. Nelly opened it up and found a small picture inside.
It was her mother.
Mary, before the marriage, before the children. She was standing on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, laughing at something. Mary had long, chestnut curls and worry-less blue eyes. It was her mother, but not the person Nelly knew. As Nelly got older, she started to understand why her mum was always sick. Why her mum couldn't take Nelly and Jimmy out of the house a lot. Why her mum stayed in bed most days. Mary wasn't just physically sick with low iron – she was very mentally unwell too.
Nelly let out a tiny sigh.
The gift had to have come from Speirs. Placing the locket back inside its box, Nelly placed the box in her front jacket pocket and then left the hut. It was raining outside, cold went and thick rain. Making her way up the path toward the manor, Nelly soon approached the front doors and opened them. Peaking inside the entrance hall first, she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
"Nelly?" A voice to her right called. She turned to face the voice – Speirs was standing under an archway and in front of a sitting area. "You should be at supper". He said while stepping out into the entrance hall. "Are you sick again?"
"It's mutton, I...". Clearing her throat, Nelly closed the distance between them. She looked up at her older cousin and he raised a questioning eyebrow in return. She ran a hand through her wet chestnut curls. And then told him quietly, "Thank you".
Speirs's eyebrow lowered and he nodded.
"You're right". Nelly said, "I should see Crossgates again".
Speirs remained quiet.
Nelly let out a small sigh. "And...put flowers on their grave...like any good daughter and sister would do".
A small frown reached his face.
Licking her bottom lip, Nelly cocked her head to the side. "Never thought I'd reach eighteen". She said quietly, "Feels the same".
"Age is just a number". Speirs said.
Nelly hummed softly and nodded. "Yeah".
His eyes noticed the box in her front pocket. "You want me to put it on?"
"Okay". Taking the box out, Nelly opened it and handed Speirs the necklace.
She was still facing him. Speirs almost looked amused. "Turn around, Nelly".
Turning around, Speirs placed the necklace in front of her and fastened it by her neck. Nelly's fingers grabbed hold of the locket gently. "I like the picture". She said softly.
"I thought you might". Speirs said, "You look just like her there – she was fifteen".
"Fifteen". Nelly repeated softly. "Young".
"Yeah". He agreed. "My mom took the picture".
Smiling small, Nelly turned around and faced her cousin. "Did they always live in Edinburgh?"
"Not always". Speirs replied. "Glasgow first, then Edinburgh. That picture was taken during a small holiday to the Capital".
"How did mum meet dad?"
"Well, our moms went over the Forth to visit Dunfermline". Speirs said, "That's where they met your dad. At the time, he lived in Dunfermline to take care of his sick mother – your Gran. But she died shortly after your parents got married".
"Our mum's parents died in Glasgow...do you remember them?"
"I do". Speirs confirmed quietly. "Our Grandmother was Irish".
"I don't remember them...".
"They were nice". He said, "They had a good life. They loved their girls, their family".
After a short pause, she asked, "Are you 'gonna marry that English girl?"
Speirs was puzzled. "How in the world did you hear about that?"
Eyes lightening with amusement, Nelly said, "Your men...talk loud".
Speirs sighed. But then nodded. "Yeah. We're getting married".
"She's pregnant".
His eyes widened slightly. "She is not". He said, "We love each other. That's why we're getting married".
Nelly snorted out a tiny laugh. "She's pregnant".
Speirs set her a deadpanned look. "You can leave now".
And through a smile, Nelly apologised. "Sorry".
"Clearly". He remarked sarcastically. "The door – leave".
With a quiet chuckle, Nelly nodded and turned her back to Speirs. "See you soon, cousin".
And with Nelly's back turned, an amused smile lifted Speirs's lips. "See you".
...
One week later, on a bright but cold morning, Nelly and Speirs got the bus into London. A train at London would take them straight to Edinburgh – they expected to arrive by supper time or a little after. Finding a place to stay in the Capital of Scotland wouldn't be a problem – Edinburgh provided many hotels and Inns. Nelly had been nervous to spend a long period of time with her cousin – she was most nervous about travelling, worried they'd run out of things to talk about. But despite his stern disposition and quiet nature, Speirs talked – mostly about the army but he talked.
"You like Dog Company?"
"Yeah, I do". Speirs replied. "And I prefer Major Strayer to my last commanding officer".
Nodding, Nelly asked, "Have you met Buck?"
"We get along". Speirs said, "And you should address him as Lieutenant Compton, Nelly".
Leaning back against the seat opposite her cousin, Nelly shrugged. "He wants us to call him Buck".
Speirs sighed quietly. "Yeah...I heard he's pretty friendly with the enlisted".
"Bad?"
"Not bad". He said, "It's just not how an officer should behave with the men".
"How should they behave?"
After a moment of thought, Speirs replied, "Almost like a parent or a coach. We know them, we respect them, and we'll care for them as best we can. But the line is drawn at friendship".
"It's a...faint line". Nelly said quietly.
"Depends on the Officer".
"So, Lieutenant Winters isn't my friend?"
Wording his answer carefully, Speirs told her, "He likes you; he's found of you – just like he is with the other men. But he's your Lieutenant, your boss".
"Doesn't feel like a boss...". Nelly said quietly. "When we do field exercises, we're not working under him...we're working with him".
Speirs shrugged. "Every Platoon leader's different".
"We didn't have ranks as Agents". Nelly said, "We had Nelson, the guy above him and then Churchill. Could be different now...it wasn't much of anything when I joined".
"You don't like Nelson, do you?" Speirs asked.
With a shake of her head, Nelly frowned. "I fucking hate him...".
He huffed. "Yeah, I could tell". Speirs asked, "Why?"
Briefly looking at her cousin first, Nelly soon faced the window. "When we got to Portugal and told Nelson what happened...he just...brushed it under the rug...".
A small frown settled on Speirs's face. "Some context would be nice".
Nelly's arms crossed over her chest. "I'm not telling you...". She mumbled.
"Because you don't trust me?"
"Not that...". She said softly, "Words are hard". Nelly told Alex some of it, she didn't want to tell anyone else about Mauthausen. Especially on a train with the windows boarded up.
"Maybe they're hard because you don't know how you feel about everything". Speirs suggested to her quietly. "Sometimes words aren't just words".
Her eyes flicked toward her cousin. Nelly had never heard him say such sentimental words before. And he was right. Facts were easy. Feelings were hard. And words with feelings behind them were harder. She decided to change the topic of conversation. "What's my aunt and uncle doing now?"
"Well, my dad retired from Hunt-spiller Gun Iron Manufacturing corporation when I went to college. Currently, we live in Brighton – it's a suburb. It's a good area. We moved once I graduated from high school. You won't remember your other cousins, huh? My brother and sisters".
Nelly shook her head.
"Mary's the oldest. Then we've got Dorothy, Elise and Bert". Speirs said, "Then me, the youngest. Probably the most spoilt as well...".
Nelly snorted softly.
A tiny smile met Speirs's face. "Bert's been in the army longer than me". He said, "He enlisted during the draft before America was dragged into the war. Bert's in the Ari corps. He's in the Pacific somewhere. Before all that, we worked practically the same job. We were both working for this insurance company – Bert was a cashier at a savings bank".
Nelly's nose twitched. "Math?"
"Numbers are easy". Speirs said, "Easier to work out...people, on the other hand...".
She smiled small again.
"I was content sitting in an office, counting and dividing". He said.
"I like numbers". Nelly said to him. "But...watching people is...fun too".
"Maybe you're more McNeil than you are Murray".
The small smile on her face softened. She nodded. "Maybe".
Bringing out a cigarette from his pack, Speirs asked, "Did you receive your tags before we left?"
Nodding, Nelly pointed toward her chest. "Right by my locket". On their tags were their names, serial number, blood type and religion. They got given new tags that morning and were told to get rid of their old ones.
"I don't think they'll update them for a while". Speirs said, "Not until the war is over".
"It's cause we all got a new vaccine". Nelly mumbled. "In the arse...".
Speirs huffed out a tiny laugh. And he nodded, "Yeah...it was pretty painful".
"Skip said he thought the nurse liked him...". Nelly smiled and chuckled quietly. "But she stabbed him with a needle".
"Ah – Skip's one of your good friends, right?"
She nodded. "Best friend". She said, "So are Donnie and...and Alex".
Speirs frowned a little at the way her voice changed when saying "Alex". With a nod, he rested his hand on the table between them. "Alex is your best friend?"
"Yeah". She said quietly. And then smiled softly. "He's...he's great...he...". Nelly stumbled a little over her words. "He was the first person I met...and we...arrived together at Mackall. And – and I stole his sandwich on the train".
A smile met Speirs's lips. "Really?"
She smiled back at him and nodded.
"And he's still your best friend, huh?" Speirs joked very faintly, "Even after stealing the man's food?"
"Oh". Nelly ducked her head to hide a shy smile. "He didn't mind...".
The amusement left his eyes – Speirs could smell trouble. And he knew that look – he was all too familiar with having crushes. With a sigh, Speirs scratched his forehead. "Do you...see him more than a friend?"
Sharply, Nelly looked at him. "What? No – no...".
Well, that was a lie, he thought. But Speirs played along with her lies. "Alright – fair enough".
Huffing out a forced and fake laugh, Nelly shook her head. "It's...yeah...platonic".
"Okay".
"I'm not lying".
"Okay". Speirs repeated.
Quietly, Nelly added, "He's got a girlfriend back home".
Humming, Speirs flicked the ash from his cigarette into an ashtray. "Because you know, that wouldn't be very good if it was more than platonic, right?"
Nodding faintly, Nelly could feel a small frown form on her face.
"Because if something were to happen to Alex, what would happen to you?" Speirs looked at his little cousin and she shrugged. "It wouldn't feel good, would it?"
Shaking her head, Nelly's eyes looked down at the table.
Thinking he had upset her, Speirs added, "I'm just looking out for you".
"I know". Nelly whispered.
Quickly changing the subject, Speirs mentioned, "Lieutenant Winters told me you wrote him a card for his birthday. Have your friends been torturing you?"
Small smile lifting her lips, Nelly nodded. "Yeah".
"Good job, Nelly".
Nelly's smile widened slightly. "Thanks...Ronnie".
Speirs smiled back at her.